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More Than Life	By : Psnoo17 Category: M through R > Once Upon A Time In Mexico Views: 1900 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time in Mexico, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-More Than Life
- 2-1
- 3-2
- 4-3
- 5-4
- 6-5
- 7-7
- 8-It Begins
- 9-Double Agent
- 10-10
- 8
- 9
- 10
Sands didn�t want to admit it, but he was worried. Tess had disappeared off the radar over a
week ago. Literally. The same necklace that had a microphone in it, also had a homing device. She�d disappeared on a Tuesday, and had then
been taken south. The microphone was
only good for a radius of twenty miles, and it hadn�t taken long for her to
move out of that range. But it had been
enough time for Sands to be content that she was with her family � or at least
a representative of it. There had been
no mention of a �Neva Velasquez,� or even a �Neva Barillo,� but Tess obviously
knew the woman. And while she didn�t
appear to be on the best terms with her, she did seem to expect to arrive in Mexico
safely.
If only the name of
the town they were going to had been dropped.
-Ring- Sands�
phone started plating a Beethoven concerto.
He wasn�t quite sure when his normal ringtone had been changed, but he
was relatively certain who had done it.
It was beyond him though, why he hadn�t changed it back yet . . . but he
told himself it was because he had better things to do with his time than play
with his cell phone.
�Sands.�
�We found her.�
Immediately the CIA
agent sat upright from where he was slouched in a chair. He�d been getting little sleep for the past
few days, most of his waking hours spent trying to locate Tess and come up with
strategies in case she�d been lost. No
one would raise much of an alarm if another body was found in just another
ditch somewhere. And if that had
happened, he would have been screwed.
�Where is she?� I�m going to wring her neck if she�s alright.
�Mexico
City. She came
in range last night. We tried getting
through to you last night, but the line was busy every time we tried.�
Rather than make
excuses or be embarrassed that he�d been conducting a quiet but thorough
manhunt for the wayward mole, Sands tried to remember the name of the agent he
was talking to.
Hackshaw.
�Is her radio coming in?�
�Yeah . . . nothing
but road nose and some rather inconsequential talk so far. Earlier this morning there was the beginning
of what could have been an interesting catfight, but the other woman seemed to
back off at the last moment.� The other
man chuckled. �Although, I must admit
that your civilian was taking a verbal beating. I can�t say I think she�s much of a match for
these bastards.�
He wasn�t
surprised. Tess stood up for others, not
herself. �You�ve got it backwards,�
Sands pointed out with some satisfaction.
This guy was starting to irritate him, and throwing him off balance
would be a good cure for that. �The
cousins are legit. It�s Tess that�s the
bastard.� There was silence from the
other man. �Listen,
just pipe the signal through, Hackshaw.�
There was grumbling
from the other man as the necessary connections were made, but soon Sands was
listening to the quiet sound of a car in transit.
For several minutes
there was silence, then a voice suddenly broke in.
�Where are we
going?�
Tessa�s voice was
chilly and cultured, showing mild interest and indifference at the same
time. Sands strangely found himself thinking back to a conversation he�d once had with
Tess. He couldn�t see her � could only
hear her � and she�d been pissed at him.
He couldn�t remember why. Just
that he�d been amused by the tone of icy unconcern in her voice. Anyone who took the time to pay attention to
her behavior would know that it was an act.
But then, he hadn�t had much to do then besides unravel the puzzle of
his unwilling nurse.

************************************************************************

�Where are we going?�
Tess was tired of being left in the dark and treated as unwanted cargo �
important cargo, but cargo nonetheless.
For the past week she and her cousin had been traveling around what felt
like the entirety of Mexico. She hadn�t been told why, but she guessed
that Carlos was traveling to keep his people in line, and that she and Neva
were playing catch-up. They�d been in Mexico
City since last night, and this was the first time
they were traveling in something more comfortable than a Suburban. Logic suggested that Carlos was nearby. I
wonder if anyone is picking any of this up, she thought as she adjusted her
glasses. Audio was one thing, but was
anyone trying to record what the cameras in her glasses were picking up?
�It�s enough that
we�re going, rat�n.
Are you going to complain about everything?� Neva�s voice was bored
and slightly irritated. She didn�t enjoy
Tessa�s company any more than the other woman enjoyed hers.
Mouse.
Tess hated the nickname. It was a
reminder of how she�d spent so many years creeping about the periphery of the
cartel, literally and metaphorically. The mouse has grown up though, she
thought. Into a rabbit. A ironic smile twisted her lips. A bit
bigger, but still just as scared. �I
don�t think it�s unreasonable for me to ask where I�m being taken, Neva. Especially since I�m going without a fuss.�
Her cousin glared
at her with minor irritation � Barillo�s bastard daughter didn�t merit any
stronger emotion. It was several minutes
before she answered as she looked out the window at the passing scenery of Mexico
City. �We�re
meeting Carlos for lunch.�
Tess only inclined
her head in acknowledgement, knowing Neva wouldn�t see
it. She�d never been close to the older
woman, even when they�d lived under the same roof. And now there was even more of a rift between
them.
A few minutes later
the limo pulled up in front of a small but exclusive caf�. La Garza.
The Heron. All dining was al
fresco, the grounds floored in grass. A
stream ran through extravagant landscaping, twining through clusters of
forget-me-nots, poinsettia, marigolds, and poppies. The wrought iron fence that surrounded the
grounds was covered in Jessamine and ivy.
The birds that gave the caf� its name were verdigris, posed amidst the
shrubs and by quiet pools. In the pools
were koi � carefully cared for by the groundskeepers. It was a delightful place, away from the
noisy bustle of the street, but Tess couldn�t help but let down her guard here
. . . even though she knew that was probably why this location had been picked
as the meeting place.
A waiter led the
two women to an isolated table near a small waterfall. Tess hesitated when she saw the man waiting
there for them � she barely recognized him at all.
Carlos stood as his
sisted cod cousin approached.
�Teresa. It�s been a long time.�
�Apparently, if
you�ve forgotten that I prefer to be called Tess.� Despite the chill to her words, she allowed
Carlos to take her hands in his, not releasing more than a blink when he
squeezed them gently in welcome. But
inside, she could feel more of her defenses lowering; it�d been a long week
without touch. She�d grown lax in the
past year, becoming accustomed to getting hugs morning and evening from small
arms, and even more spoiled by the feeling of Sands� body against hers. The past week, having felt no more than harsh
grips and indifferent pushes, she�d remembered just what it�d been like to be
under the cartel�s influence. Her
father�s influence.
Carlos tucked away
a grin at her politely defiant words.
�No, I hadn�t forgotten. I just
had no idea if you�d outgrown the old nickname . . . or if I was still on the
list of people who could use it with your approval.� He pulled out a chair for her to sit in, and
Tess took it, smoothing down her skirt as she did so.
She watched as he
preformed the same courtesy for his sister and waited for him to take his own
seat before immediately going on the offence.
�I find it strange that you were waiting for my approval to do something so commonplace
as use a nickname, especially when you see nothing wrong with nabbing me off
the street.�
�Ah, but that is
different.el hefe.
He was still the enemy. He was
still a man who would do whatever was necessary to ensure his grip over his
territory and the people who lived in it was ironclad. She was seeing the silk glove, but she had to
remember that it could crush her at any time.
�I don�t suppose I
have much of a choice in the matter, do I?�
Carlos looked this
unknown woman in the eye, seeing her internal conflict. If he trapped her, she�d just fight him,
relentlessly and unreasonably. But if he
allowed this to be her choice . . . I
bought this for myself a few years back.�
�What�s inside it?�
Tess smiled wryly,
the first sign of humor she�d shown since leaving the U.S. �It�s empty.
I haven�t found anything important enough to put inside it yet.�
�Still scared of
men, j�venes?�
Young one. �With reason.
I haven�t had the best experiences with them. They�re either controlling, abusive, or a
combination of the two.� Resolutely, she
kept Sands out of her mind and her dream-father�s warning. Avoiding the wine set before her, she drank
deeply out of her water glass. �des,des,
I�ve been too busy traveling to meet a lot of people. What about you? Any plans to eventually settle down and rear
children for the glory of Mexico?� The last part of her question was tinged with
irony.
�If I can convince
the right woman to settle down with me, then yes. I wouldnind ind having my own children. I�d be sure to isolate them from all this,
though.� He gestured to their
surroundings with his fork. �This is no
place to raise children. I mean, look at
us.
- 8
- 9
- 10
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